Steve Trussell, a veteran consultant with the University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at 快猫app短视, recently accepted an appointment to the Sardis City Council. 

Trussell’s arrival in the rural Georgia council comes at a critical time for the city, as vacant buildings outnumber the occupied ones. But where many see a fading memory of a once-thriving town, Trussell sees untapped potential. He credits his time with Georgia Southern’s Business Innovation Group (BIG) for preparing him to address the town’s needs. 

“Being a part of the SBDC and BIG has given me up-close access to how businesses grow and succeed,” he explained. “It’s that expertise and my background in supply chain management that gives me faith to accomplish the goals I have in Sardis.”

This includes a complete overhaul of the city’s resources to ensure the infrastructure can support businesses interested in setting up shop.

“We need to continue to make substantial improvements,” said Trussell. “We need upgrades for the city water and other utilities, as well as other infrastructure to attract businesses and residents again. But these investments in the town will set it up for success down the road. There鈥檚 already a core group of residents trying to lead these initiatives, and I want to help build on their actions to improve the future outcome for all residents.”

Despite the work ahead, Trussell firmly believes in his dream of a revitalized Sardis. 

“I want to help this city thrive,” he explained. “There’s some incredible history in this town, which started as a stop for coal trains traveling between Savannah and Augusta in the early 1900’s. I want this town to have an identity again.”

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快猫app短视’s Business Innovation Group is building an ecosystem throughout the State of Georgia to help entrepreneurs create, incubate and accelerate their for-profit business enterprises. 

The University of Georgia’s Small Business Development Center works to enhance the economic well-being of Georgians by providing a wide range of educational services for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Students from 快猫app短视 and the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) gathered Nov. 17 on the Armstrong Campus for the second annual Community Engaged Research Conference.

This event is a chance for student researchers from both institutions to showcase their individual work and the partnership between Georgia Southern and MCG, which has expanded since MCG established its Savannah campus in July 2024.

While students鈥� perspectives take center stage, the conference also emphasizes collaboration between academia and community. A group of clinicians from , and joined MCG students to host a panel discussion titled 鈥淯ninsured and Underinsured Populations – Access to Specialty Care.鈥�

 Student-led oral and poster presentations were featured, along with an awards ceremony recognizing select students for outstanding work in both categories.

Oral presentations were divided into separate sessions titled 鈥淏ench to Bedside鈥� and 鈥淐onnecting Clinic and Community.鈥�

Rachelan Boss, a senior majoring in health science and minoring in public health, and Taryn Black, a senior biochemistry major, won the award for best student oral presentation in the second session. Black and Boss weren鈥檛 the only Georgia Southern students to receive recognition. Md Didarul Alam, a master鈥檚 student in electrical and computer engineering, won the student鈥檚 choice award for the best poster under the mentorship of Mohammad Ahad, Ph.D.

The conference鈥檚 second year saw increased participation. The number of presentations was doubled, with Georgia Southern students leading 59 of the total 118.

The importance of this data point was not lost on Georgia Southern Faculty member and Conference Chair, Shainaz Landge, Ph.D.

鈥淭his event is a major springboard for research at our University,鈥� Landge said. 鈥淪eeing more of our students participate shows our growth and underscores MCG鈥檚 value as both a collaborator and a leader in medical research. Collaboration drives progress, and we鈥檙e seeing that in real time. MCG is a world-class institution, and we鈥檙e privileged to have a campus in our region.鈥�

Dr. Elizabeth Gray, dean of MCG鈥檚 Savannah campus, also sees benefits in the relationship between the two schools.

鈥�This conference highlights not only the power of joint engagement but also the promise it holds for future collaborations between our institutions,鈥� she explained. 鈥淩esearch can open the door to innovation and expand community involvement.  With participation from across all four years of medical students, we were able to showcase research focused on the real needs of our community.鈥� 

Both Landge and Gray believe the partnership between Georgia Southern and MCG will continue to grow in scope and impact. They say the same is true of the Community Engaged Research Conference.